Month: September 2017

Medical marijuana was just passed in Florida by referendum in the 2016 election. Despite the voter referendum, conservative counties backed by our republican controlled executive and legislative state government are running interference across the state to disrupt the implementation of medical marijuana leaving it still largely unavailable.

The reality of medical marijuana is that it has a number of legitimate uses for disease management that are virtually side effect free when dosed properly. The marijuana flower has glandular structures known as trichomes that contain essential oils. When these glands are separated from the plant, “cannanioids” may be separated out and formulated into the proper ratios that facilitate medical uses with little to no side effects.

Cannabinoids fall into 2 categories. Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is responsible for the psychotropic effect; while cannabidiol, or CBD, provides the main medicinal component. However, CBD alone is not clinically as effective as combining it in proper ratios with THC, and the right combination provides enhanced medicinal efficacy via what researchers term the “entourage effect.”

One very common use of medical marijuana in people is treatment of seizure disorders, of which we see a great deal in veterinary medicine, particularly in dogs. Life threatening complications or organ damage are highly unlikely with properly dosed medical marijuana in comparison to traditional anti-convulsant medications which are know to tax the liver. Other applications for medical marijuana include management of GI disease, nausea, spinal pain, arthritis pain, anxiety, and cancer management (stimulation of appetite and control of pain).

Are there any risks to treatment with medical marijuana in veterinary medicine? The biggest risk medical marijuana carries is accidental overdose. Even then, life threatening reactions to medical marijuana are exceedingly rare. Also, we must recognized that accidental overdose potential exists with traditional medications as well, often with far more devastating consequences.

Will we be prescribing medical marijuana in veterinary medicine any time soon? The answer to this is: not likely. The first barrier is that standardized dosing research in dogs and cats is still very much in progress with little clear consensus. The second barrier is that the purchase of medical marijuana in states like California (and likely Florida once it is available) require a medical marijuana card. In California where medical marijuana has been legal for years, there is no legal mechanism by which a dog or cat can be issued a medical marijuana card. I assume the same will be the case here in Florida where I practice once medical marijuana is available.

The best option available to pet owners at this time is to talk to a veterinarian who has experience with pets being treated with cannabis oil about proper dosage and reputable manufacturers. How these veterinary practitioners navigate the legal side of prescribing medical marijuana is not clear to me, however.

In summary, practical applications of medical marijuana are well established in people and early research and anecdotal reports indicate that the same is true for dogs and cats. While it will likely be some time before this alternative treatment approach will available to dogs and cats, as research evolves and doses are standardized, there will likely be more pressure for a legal avenue to make it available to dogs and cats.

Dr. Roger Welton is a practicing veterinarian and highly regarded media personality through a number of topics and platforms. In addition to being passionate about integrative veterinary medicine for which he is a nationally renowned expert, Dr. Welton was also an accomplished college lacrosse player and remains to this day very involved in the sport. He is president of Maybeck Animal Hospital , runs the successful veterinary/animal health blogs Web-DVM and Dr. Roger’s Holistic Veterinary Care, and fulfills his passion for lacrosse through his lacrosse and sport blog, The Creator’s Game.

Heartworm disease is a parasite that colonizes and gradually destroys the heart, pulmonary artery, and lungs. It is transmitted via the bite of a mosquito infected with microfilaria (a microscopic baby heartworm) as it injects the larvae into the dog’s blood stream when feeding on a dog. Heartworm can also infect wild species of canids, such as foxes, coyotes, and wolves. Less commonly, heartworm can infect cats, ferrets, and raccoons

As an integrative veterinary practitioner, a branch of medicine that combines traditional western veterinary medicine with proven, natural, side effect free veterinary medicine alternatives, I frequently get asked if there are any natural options for preventing heartworm disease in dogs. My answer is yes, but it is not likely the answer that a natural medicine or holistically minded person may expect.

The three most active ingredients in commercial monthly heartworm preventive medications – ivermectin, milbemycin oxime, and selamectin – are all derived from a compound within the naturally occurring soil bacteria Streptomyces avermitilis. It was observed by the Kitasato Institute that certain soils were toxic to several species of invertebrate animals, an animal classification that includes many species of worms. In 1979, a unique bacteria was isolated by the Kitasato Institute that they believed was responsible for the inability of certain worms to survive in the soil.

The Institute sent the bacterial isolate to Merck Sharp & Dohme Research Laboratories in Rahway, NJ, where it was discovered that it was a particular class of compound called avermectin secreted by the bacteria that was responsible for its ability to kill worms. It was theorized that the secretion of this compound evolved as either a mechanism to kill soil worms to be used by the bacteria as a food resource or to eliminate the worms which are competition for soil nutrients.

Whatever the case may be, this discovery would soon take human and veterinary parasite medicine by storm. It began with the recognition that one of the avermectin derivative compounds, ivermectin, was effective in treating Onchocerca volvulus, the worm parasite responsible for causing River Blindess, a disease that is spread by the bite of the black fly and infects 16 million people a year world wide. The disease is seen most commonly in sub-Saharan Africa and isolated areas of Central and South America.

As the worm larvae develop, they migrate to the skin cause a severe itch, with some cases tormenting infected victims to the extent that there have been many reports of people resorting to burning affected area of the skin with hot coals or hot irons as desperate attempts to relieve the itch. The can larvae travel to the eyes and also cause blindness, hence the name of the disease (the “River” part come from the fact that black flies live near river banks). Significant to complete blindness from Onchocerca volvulus is reported in approximately 800,000 people world wide each year. With the advent of ivermectin and its commercial production by Merck, millions of people each year are spared the tormenting and potentially tragic consequences of infection with Onchocerca volvulus.

Ivermectin and other derivatives of avermectin have proven to treat countless worm and other parasites in both human and veterinary medicine. Perhaps the biggest contribution of the discovery of avermectins in veterinary medicine is the prevention of heartworm disease, which is nearly 100% preventable with monthly micro-doses of these compounds available in any number of commercial products. Not only are these products naturally derived, while they may be quite toxic to immature worms, they are virtually harmless to mammalian vertebrates, the class of animals that includes dogs and people.

So there you have it, safe and natural heartworm prevention has existed for decades and is available at just about every veterinary clinic in the United States. This is probably not what a holistically or naturally minded pet owner expected to or even wanted to read, but it is the truth. Instead, it is more likely that a reader that was excited to finally have a veterinarian show concrete evidence of one of the common natural heartworm preventive herbal and other concoctions touted or sold online, actually works. I am sorry to disappoint, but these alternative treatments are at best doubtful, at worst toxic. Lets review some of the more common ones.

Garlic: Believed by some to stop the maturation of heartworms – Ineffective and toxic to dogs.

Sorrel: Claimed to clear the blood stream of worms, serving as cardiovascular detox – complete and utter rubbish and toxic toxic to dogs.

Guinness Beer: No comment, I will just leave this one for you to contemplate!

Black Walnut Hull: Claimed to kill the microfilaria (infective heartworm larvae injected by the infected feeding mosquito) before it can mature to juvenile and adult stages – Anecdotal reports of efficacy only, luckily not likely to be toxic.

Essential Oils: Claim to prevent heartworm by repelling the pests from feeding on the pet in the first place – Ineffective and possibly tormenting for the pet (essential oils tend to have a very strong scent to us, imagine how they would smell to a dog that can smell 200,000-300,000 more acutely than we can?).

In a heartworm prone area (anywhere mosquitoes exist and the temperature can remain above 57 degree F for two weeks or longer at any given time) I would not recommend risking heartworm infection or possibly intoxicating your dog with any of these and other supposed natural heartworm preventives, especially when proven, naturally derived heartworm prevention already exists; albeit, not necessarily fitting within certain holistic pet owners’ narrative.

Dr. Roger Welton is a practicing veterinarian and highly regarded media personality through a number of topics and platforms. In addition to being passionate about integrative veterinary medicine for which he is a nationally renowned expert, Dr. Welton was also an accomplished college lacrosse player and remains to this day very involved in the sport. He is president of Maybeck Animal Hospital , runs the successful veterinary/animal health blogs Web-DVM and Dr. Roger’s Holistic Veterinary Care, and fulfills his passion for lacrosse through his lacrosse and sport blog, The Creator’s Game.

Before discussing Apocaps, I must first be clear that as an integrative veterinarian, in cases of treatable cancer, I always advocatefor proven western techniques (surgical resection of tumors when possible, safe and proven chemotherapy, etc.) in combination with supplemental and natural immune boosting/anti-cancer therapy. I utilize products like Apocaps as ancillary management of these cases, or a primary cancer therapy in cases where more aggressive western treatments/resolutions for cancer in dogs are either not possible due to systemic concerns, individual owner ethical boundaries, economic prohibition, and/or when tumors are not surgically resectable.

With that statement out of the way, I am very excited to introduce this very promising natural treatment for management of cancer. Before discussing how Apocaps works, it is first necessary to explain what apoptosis is. Apoptosis is a mechanism of normal cells in the body, a programmed cell death so that aged cells in need of replenishment can clear out and make way for fresh, new cells to support a healthy body.

Unhealthy or mutated cells in the body sometimes lose the ability to undergo apoptosis and instead continue to divide unchecked. As these abnormal cells divide, they pass along their abnormal characteristics, grow into abnormal tissues call tumors, and cause disease in the body. This is the underlying mechamism of cancer.

The Apocaps Dog Cancer Treatment is made of plants that have naturally occurring molecules that support normal cellular apoptosis when introduced into the living body. The apoptogens in the forumla are luteolin, apigenin, curcumin, silymarin, beta-glucans, and gingerols.

This is not a cure for cancer, but as previously stated, Apocaps are helpful as ancillary therapy for traditional cancer treatment, and palliative therapy for cancer that is not treatable by conventional means. For the latter, quality of life can be significantly increased as the product reduces oxidative stress on the body that results from cancer. There are common anecdotal reports that Apocaps can lead to significant reductions in tumor sizes. Beyond restoration of quality of life, this combination may also lead to increased life expectancy.

Dr. Roger Welton is a practicing veterinarian and highly regarded media personality through a number of topics and platforms. In addition to being passionate about integrative veterinary medicine for which he is a nationally renowned expert, Dr. Welton was also an accomplished college lacrosse player and remains to this day very involved in the sport. He is president of Maybeck Animal Hospital , runs the successful veterinary/animal health blogs Web-DVM and Dr. Roger’s Holistic Veterinary Care, and fulfills his passion for lacrosse through his lacrosse and sport blog, The Creator’s Game.